Settling in and enjoying Basel

It has been a bit over a month and I am really enjoying my time in Basel. My family here is great. Alma (11mo) is learning everything so fast, Kaete (4) and I love to run around and have special Thursday nights together, and Clara (7) had a great birthday party and is known for having wonderful braids everyday (thanks to me!).

I live in Dornach, a town outside of the city. Dornach is beautiful. There is a castle ruin just up the road where we had Clara's 7th birthday party. It was a knight's games party, with archery, jousting, catapult and scavenger hunt through the ruin that ended at the Dragon's nest full of "eggs" (paper mache balloons with sweets inside). We ate cake like a castle and chicken with our hands and had to throw the bones over our shoulders. Clara's entire class was invited and it was a blast.

At first it is easy to think that Switzerland is quite similar to the US. Very developed, similar money, education and careers alike. But as I have been here I notice and appreciate the differences. The language barrier is the most obvious. Although I can usually say that I don't speak German and they know English, I am making an effort to learn German. The problem is that you are taught hi-German, which is what Barbara and Norbert speak, but in Basel all I hear is Swiss German, which is REALLY different. Oh well, I'm trying!

The food is also great. Although I can get just about everything that I would eat in the States here, the "local" fare is AMAZING! I eat so much bread and cheese and chocolate! I went grocery shoppping with Norbert, which includes going to France and Germany. In France I was told to go to the cheese counter and get a few things. I was so overwhelmed! After I finally got three, I turned around to find Norbert and the entire wall behind me was ALSO cheese! I went to a Raclette party...you use a special grill and make veggies and melt cheese under a broiler in a special tray. Then you put the veggies on potatoes and top it with the super melty gooey cheese! WOW!!

I have been exploring in Basel a lot. I have finally become very comfortable on public transport...to go from my house to Basel city I take a bus to a train to a tram...and I have to time is all just right so that it only takes 25 minutes! I went with a friend to go to many of the recommended sights in Basel to take photos...we had both been but alone or without a camera! Basel is really beautiful; it is right on the Rhine river and has so many beautiful, old buildings. The Marktplatz, the market in the center of town, has the beautiful old town hall building and just from there is the Muenster cathedral. There are also towers and gates from when the city was walled which are very large and ornate...especially for a wall! There is the Tenguely fountain made by a well known artist/inventor with crazy water everywhere and children playing in it on warm days. There are cobblestone walk ways and "roads" barely wide enough for 1 car. It is quite enchanting.

I also went to Augusta Raurica, an area that was settled by the Romans hundreds of years ago and the amphitheater still is there. For the RomeroFest I attended, there were gladiators fighting and stalls with people doing trade work as it would have been done long ago. Bakers, weavers, wood working, metal working, marble carving, artists, and more. There was also chariot racing. The best part was that everyone was dressed in costume!

I am really enjoying my time here. Fall has arrived and the fall festivals are beginning. Weather is cooling off too. The girls have begun after school activities, so I'll be helping out with Clara's Girl Scout troop and volunteering in Kaete's preschool class. Clara also has violin and Kaete has soccer one day a week! I have been hanging out with a group of AuPairs (or former AuPairs). We have had dinner parties, nights out at the bars, and tourist adventures! I also go climbing 2-4 days a week before I go pick the girls up from school and have met a couple of nice people there too. I also can't wait for upcoming things, trips, parties, festivals! So much to do...I'm not sure how I'll get it all in in one year!